Une Etude Et Interpretation De L'evolution Du Bonheur Chez Albert Camus. (French Text).

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to define the theme of happiness in Albert Camus, and to see how this theme relates to certain stages in the writer's literary career. After examining Albert Camus' Diplome d'Etudes Superieures, in which we discovered the doublesided structure of sun and shadow that would represent the originality of his work, we turned to those novels that are the most representative of Camusian thought at any given time in his life. We started with La Mort heureuse because this unfinished novel was ultimately published more than ten years after his death; we then used L'Etranger, La Peste and finally La Chute--his last important work and the one that reexamines the whole notion of happiness. The conclusion we drew from our analysis was that happiness is a dynamic state that always remains a dominating force in Camus' work, though it is often hindered in its fulfilment by his awareness of the sense of guilt inherent in the condition of man. Hence, happiness is no longer absolute but requires, on the contrary, a "certaine mesure"; that is, it ends up compromising with such notions as justice, truth and "la morale." In either event, however, absolute or not, Camus' "happiness" derives clearly from the "kingdom" of man.